Apartments in Arboretum given go-ahead despite ‘room for improvement’ in plans

Addison Street Apartments, as drawn up by Rayner Davies Architects
Addison Street Apartments, as drawn up by Rayner Davies Architects
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans for 29 apartments in a conservation area in Nottingham have been given the green-light despite councillors arguing there is ‘room for improvement’.

The apartments will be built on the site of the former Nottingham Proprietary Bowling Green Club, in Addison Street, which closed in September 2019.

To the north of the site is the Arboretum which is defined as a
Grade II registered park and garden, while it also sits near to the Grade II listed Chinese Bell Tower.

As such, the site is situated within the Arboretum Conservation Area.

The entire scheme will and accommodate 29 apartments, including two one-beds, 25 two-beds and two three-beds.

During a Nottingham City Council planning meeting at Loxley House on October 19, the proposals were unanimously given the go-ahead, despite initial reservations over how the buildings would look situated next to the ‘elaborate’ Victorian architecture in the area.

Aspley Cllr Graham Chapman (Lab) said: “Although I think they are very reasonable buildings which do fit in with the area, as Edwardian or Victorian, attempts at decoration seem to be just gestures rather than decent decorations.

“If you look at some of the houses around, some of it is quite elaborate, so I do think there is room for improvement there.”

The developer, Unitech Plus Limited, says the bowls club car park and its club house will be retained, with the lawn being utilised as a landscaped garden area for residents.

Chairman of the committee, Meadows Cllr Michael Edwards, added: “It is my general understanding that these properties don’t have sufficient car parking for every apartment to have a car.”

He said the developer should pay “particular attention to how brick and the design of the front of the building is actually done given that there are successful examples of such treatment elsewhere in the city such as the Sherwood area”.

The Arboretum Residents Association and Friends of Nottingham Arboretum groups had also raised concerns over the fact there would only be 11 car parking spaces.

The use of the apartments was then questioned.

“The density is greater than the Nottingham Trent University halls of residence on Peel Street,” the groups said.

“Other than students, it is hard to imagine who’d want to rent in this high density development.

“The influx of young people has changed the feel to the area and we have more issues of antisocial behaviour, street drinking, urinating in public places, persistent problems with refuse, leaving bins out, not enough waste capacity and fly tipping.

“I welcome the fact that these will be residential apartments as opposed to further student accommodation which is already saturated within the Arboretum area.”

Council planning officers said while the scheme is not designed primarily for students, the apartments could in theory be rented by them.

The plans were approved subject to the recommendations surrounding the design of the buildings.

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